Monday, April 28, 2014

The other day I was playing Family Feud with my daughter on her Kindle when the subject of Charles Chaplin came up. My daughter had no clue who Chaplin was. I tried to explain about the silent movie era and his signature outfit (baggy pants, small overcoat, giant shoes). In the end we thought it might be better to rent the movie Modern Times.

At first the kids were really resistant to the idea of a silent movie. Boring. Weird. But then it turned out that both of them very much enjoyed it. The title appeared kind of laughable to them. What? A black and white movie with hardly any sound and talking at all. What is modern about that?

What would Chaplin make of this world of computers, I-pods, I-phones, and wide screen TVs? Times have changed yet I feel that we are still fighting similar battles when it comes to technology. How do we deal with the daily onslaught of images, shared links, the constant stream of information coming at us? The majority of our workforce must no longer stand at a conveyor belt, and the idea of being force fed soup by a machine seems ludicrous. Instead we spent endless hours in front of screens being force fed information...

Here I am at my little desk sewing dolls by hand, but in order to sell them I must use modern technology and understand how to use it to sell my wares. I feel there is this huge clash between peoples' yearning to go back to a simpler life while we all have become totally dependent on electronic devices we are hooked up to 24-7 .

Thursday, April 24, 2014

It's good to get back to gardening. Over last few weeks we have been working hard on getting our community garden patch ready for the season. Turning the garden and removing all the rocks that appeared over the winter was hard work. But lots of helping hands made the job easier. Nobody likes the weeding part...

The potatoes are in the ground and we planted some fava beans for the first time. This weekend we will add carrots and beets. Do you have a garden?

Let me tell you there is nothing as yummy as a freshly picked garden salad. The leaves in the salad you see in the photo were just from thinning out the lettuce we had planted a few weeks ago. It was the best thing I ate since the last garden tomatoes in the fall...

What I love about doll making is that you can use outgrown kids' clothes and turn them into sweet doll clothes. Cinnamon's shirt is made of an old pair of my daughter's dance pants. It is such lovely grey material. Very simple but super cute. It goes perfectly with her floral hoodie that is a bit darker grey..
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Sunday, April 20, 2014

I hope you had a good day with your family and loved ones. I most certainly did. The weather was splendid. So much so that we went to our community garden patch and stuck some potatoes in the ground. In a few months we'll be hunting for potatoes instead of eggs...

One could get used to to the nice weather.. But it is Colorado, and you never know if there is more snow in the cards for us...

Friday, April 18, 2014

Today is my birthday. With each year I get older I find it harder to accept the number. How do you do it? I mean inside you still feel like a little kid. Where did those wrinkles and age spots come from? Can't decide whether to dye my hair or not. I don't like having my picture taken these days. Don't like any of the photos. How does one get to the stage of acceptance?

Mini-Me in her Birthday Suit

Any tips or advice? All I know is I still love playing with dolls. Does a girl ever get too old for that? You tell me!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Since I was feeling very energetic this week I wrote a third tutorial. This one is about how to make a head for a waldorf style doll. It has all the information on how I make my sweet dollheads. I know there are many books and tutorials out there. But over the years I have found that there is information missing. I hope folks will find my tutorial useful and have this: Aha-moment (Oh this is how it's done) when they read it.

Maybe you have tried to make a doll and got frustrated because it didn't work out. I hope my tutorial will help you make a better head!

And then of course each doll maker has their own style and technique. In my tutorial I reveal my very own personal way of doing things. If you are curious you can get this PDF file in my Etsyshop now!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

I just finished writing and posting my second Dollmaking Tutorial. I have been working hard on it for the last couple of weeks. As I write and draw I find that I very much enjoy this new challenge. Since English is not my first language it is a bit of a struggle. Sometimes I may have to look up a word or expression. I really want to help folks make better dolls.

I hope my new line of tutorials will be a success and spread the fun and excitement about handmade German dolls. There is nothing better you can give to a child in your family or to a beloved friend than a gift you made with love with your own hands!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

I have never worked with Tibetan Lambskin. I had been admiring dolls with this type hair from afar for quite a while. They look so soft and lovable. Finally I made the jump and tried the material for the first time.

It was very hard work. My hands ache from sewing the leather. But I understand now why people are hooked on that stuff... It is soooooooo incredibly soft.

Let me know what you think of little Nicki. I spent most of the day yesterday fighting to get those little curls under control. Do you think it was a success?

Friday, April 4, 2014

We had to go outside this morning and check on the garden beds. Looks like everything is in good order. The lettuce we planted a few weeks ago has germinated nicely and is growing bigger every day.

There was only one complaint: The garden beds we built last year are too tall, and Cinnamon had to stand on a bucket to be able to see the plants. She actually managed to lean over too far and fell into the bed. Poor thing! But no worries! She didn't get hurt or anything.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

How do you feel about cinnamon? I love cinnamon. It's best consumed sprinkled on hot oatmeal in the morning. In German we call it Zimt. Not a very pretty word in my opion. I much prefer the English version. So after thinking about a name for my latest little baby I decided to go with Cinnamon.

Hope you enjoy my pictures of little Cinnamon. She is a very good baby. She always eats her veggies. Sleeps through the night. And never makes a big fuss during car rides or when it's time to go to bed...

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

I am so happy. Today my little business has been featured on Linda Dawkins' sweet blog. It is called Natural Suburbia. Linda offers the most wonderful knitting patterns for critters and all kinds of cute items for sale. I love her blog because every time you visit is like traveling to a different country: South Africa. I hope I can visit there some day.

Once you have kids traveling becomes a total luxury. Reading Linda's blog is like visiting a good friend's house. You can almost taste the food, smell the garden, feel the warmth...

Another feature I love about Linda's blog is Creative Friday. It always makes me happy to see the great variety of what folks made during the week.